First Look: Twilight Wars

Action and competition can be rare in the social gaming sphere. There’s merit in collaborative games, but sometimes it’s fun to unload some lead into your Facebook pals. If that’s what you’ve been looking for, Twilight Wars by Gamelet is worth a look.

Twilight Wars is an action shooter that offers both single and multiplayer experiences. Gameplay is viewed from the top down and players must run around a map collecting weapons to take out opposing players. Action is controlled by both the keyboard and the mouse. The player moves their soldier with keyboard while aiming and firing her weapon with the mouse.

Gameplay feels like a mix of Unreal Tournament and the classic Atari Tank. The graphics are simple, but they work and allow the play to take center stage. The player starts each round of combat with a pistol and a combat knife, but more effective weapons like shotguns and Wolverine claws are spread around the map. The point of snatching up these weapons is to shoot (or impale) the opposing team before they get you and your team. While the game is 2D and rather flat, there is a terrain element where player can gain an advantage by moving on top of crates and buildings.

An in-game store offers bonus items to bring into battle. These can include better armor or grenades. Some can be bought with coins earned from battle, but others (usually the really good ones) can only be bought with Facebook cash.

Multiplayer looks like one of the games big strengths, especially since many social games lack real-time social elements. Players can choose between two major factions and three servers divided up by geographical regions. Late on a Sunday night, there were about 600 players on at one time. Badges are built into the game and many are awarded for skill-based accomplishment. This is another plus as badge fatigue can set in when so many games toss out trophies for rote, unremarkable progression.

There’s still a lot of game to check out before giving a full review, but the first impression is a good one. It should appeal well to players hungry for some quick competition. Try Twilight Wars out and let us know what you think in the comments.